Getting back into RC aircraft
Discussion
That looks a lot of fun Ceeejay.
One of the best ways to come back into this hobby - an electric no frills jobby.
Well I’m having a grim season to be honest, the reason for not posting in here so much of late. Obviously wrecked my beloved Mirus and building of the Mk 2 has stalled somewhat.
Then the Bi Plane crash was another disappointment, then I ripped the landing gear off my Sportix twice! A poor run of weather a few weeks ago, resulting in no flying opportunities, finally got a decent night and my Wot 4 had developed a fuel plumbing issue that couldn’t be fixed at the site - so no flying.
Last week the weather was absolutely stunning, perfect conditions. Just about to start up the Wot 4 and the Transmitter started acting odd (loosing connection with the model). Quickly diagnosed as a broken wire on the Transmitter battery. Glad it showed itself on the ground, it would never have left the ground without thorough pre-flight checks - however it was a little unnerving.
I had a perfect season last year with not a single issue, sometimes it’s the roll of the dice with this hobby.
One of the best ways to come back into this hobby - an electric no frills jobby.
Well I’m having a grim season to be honest, the reason for not posting in here so much of late. Obviously wrecked my beloved Mirus and building of the Mk 2 has stalled somewhat.
Then the Bi Plane crash was another disappointment, then I ripped the landing gear off my Sportix twice! A poor run of weather a few weeks ago, resulting in no flying opportunities, finally got a decent night and my Wot 4 had developed a fuel plumbing issue that couldn’t be fixed at the site - so no flying.
Last week the weather was absolutely stunning, perfect conditions. Just about to start up the Wot 4 and the Transmitter started acting odd (loosing connection with the model). Quickly diagnosed as a broken wire on the Transmitter battery. Glad it showed itself on the ground, it would never have left the ground without thorough pre-flight checks - however it was a little unnerving.
I had a perfect season last year with not a single issue, sometimes it’s the roll of the dice with this hobby.
Yeh the Eratix is just non stop aerobatics. Had it out in the breeze this afternoon and it was landing backwards…
Had a maiden of my new beast I picked up cheap on Facebook… completely different thing… need to dial in a bit more aileron authority as it felt a bit nerve wracking putting it through some rolls….
Had a maiden of my new beast I picked up cheap on Facebook… completely different thing… need to dial in a bit more aileron authority as it felt a bit nerve wracking putting it through some rolls….
Ceeejay said:
............. completely different thing need to dial in a bit more aileron authority as it felt a bit nerve wracking putting it through some rolls .
To be entirely fair, not a manoeuvre the full size version is comfortable with, either. But yes, a bit more movement and maybe a bit of differential aileron will have it sorted.
Kim
Jim H said:
That looks a lot of fun Ceeejay.
..............then I ripped the landing gear off my Sportix twice! A poor run of weather a few weeks ago, resulting in no flying opportunities, finally got a decent night and my Wot 4 had developed a fuel plumbing issue that couldn t be fixed at the site - so no flying.
Last week the weather was absolutely stunning, perfect conditions. Just about to start up the Wot 4 and the Transmitter started acting odd (loosing connection with the model). Quickly diagnosed as a broken wire on the Transmitter battery. Glad it showed itself on the ground, it would never have left the ground without thorough pre-flight checks - however it was a little unnerving.
I had a perfect season last year with not a single issue, sometimes it s the roll of the dice with this hobby.
Two of my clubmates have got a Sportix and they've both pulled the undercarriage off multiple times - seems to be a design issue. I think that a lot of these little foamies are made with the USA market in mind, where there are predominantly hard surface strips, unlike here where we fly mainly off grass. Wheels too small and mountings too weak. My Eflite Commander is the same...............then I ripped the landing gear off my Sportix twice! A poor run of weather a few weeks ago, resulting in no flying opportunities, finally got a decent night and my Wot 4 had developed a fuel plumbing issue that couldn t be fixed at the site - so no flying.
Last week the weather was absolutely stunning, perfect conditions. Just about to start up the Wot 4 and the Transmitter started acting odd (loosing connection with the model). Quickly diagnosed as a broken wire on the Transmitter battery. Glad it showed itself on the ground, it would never have left the ground without thorough pre-flight checks - however it was a little unnerving.
I had a perfect season last year with not a single issue, sometimes it s the roll of the dice with this hobby.
Good catch with the radio problem, could've ended badly!!
I had something similar with my Calmato Alpha Sport recently, which turned out to be the onboard switch which was playing up. Replaced it with a plug/socket for isolation of the radio battery- no switch contacts to get dirty or break!
Still, we soldier on!!
Kim
Hello Kim, nice to hear from you, how are you doing buddy?
The Sportix landing gear fixing is bloody rubbish to be honest. It’s 4 M3 screws going into brass captive nuts in a very weak plastic frame.
Hopefully this will fix it. I’ve made the base mount more rigid with Ply cyano’d in.
Then there is another mounting with M3 ‘T’ nuts.
Which then fixes the undercart by M3 Nylon screws. Sure, they will snap in the event of a hard landing - but that’s my intention. I can’t make it too strong as it will wreck the fuselage.
I’m hoping this works!
It’s another slippery one the Sportix, a bit like the Acro Wot, it can arrive quite fast without a wind.
The Sportix landing gear fixing is bloody rubbish to be honest. It’s 4 M3 screws going into brass captive nuts in a very weak plastic frame.
Hopefully this will fix it. I’ve made the base mount more rigid with Ply cyano’d in.
Then there is another mounting with M3 ‘T’ nuts.
Which then fixes the undercart by M3 Nylon screws. Sure, they will snap in the event of a hard landing - but that’s my intention. I can’t make it too strong as it will wreck the fuselage.
I’m hoping this works!
It’s another slippery one the Sportix, a bit like the Acro Wot, it can arrive quite fast without a wind.
Hi Jim
All good here, thanks.
I think that your undercarriage mounting plate is pretty much what at least one of my clubmates has done.
Seems to work OK for him, so fingers crossed.
Beats the alternative path followed by another of using ever increasing amounts of hotmelt glue, which looks awful and doesn't seem to work anyway. But hey ho, we're all different.
Blue skies (but less wind)!!
All good here, thanks.
I think that your undercarriage mounting plate is pretty much what at least one of my clubmates has done.
Seems to work OK for him, so fingers crossed.
Beats the alternative path followed by another of using ever increasing amounts of hotmelt glue, which looks awful and doesn't seem to work anyway. But hey ho, we're all different.
Blue skies (but less wind)!!
Evening folks. Slope Soaring Night.
Although the weather has been stunning here for weeks, the wind has been from all directions. Myself and my flying buddy fly off a natural ridge, it has to be bang on a North Westerly to get anything like decent thermal lift. It was tonight.
This model was a Christmas present from my parents in 1986, it’s now 40 years old.
It’s an EMP Apex 98 “ Wing Span Glider.
I gave it to my buddy back in about 2007 when I was finished with the hobby, he put it away in storage. About two years ago he handed it me back and I gave it a full refresh.
I spent a lot of time on it.
Had a good 30 minute flight with it tonight, although it’s a totally different discipline - flying gliders. It’s an elevator and rudder only model, it relies on the dihedral of the wing to turn - so you need massive movements on the rudder. And gentle input on the stick.
And getting it down is hard work, it’s so much on the edge of stalling, yet the long wings generate loads of lift. Bleeding off speed and lift - with a near two metre wing span.
Not a bad Christmas present that has lasted 40 years.
I’ve bought two more models this week, I’ll get some photos up soon.
Although the weather has been stunning here for weeks, the wind has been from all directions. Myself and my flying buddy fly off a natural ridge, it has to be bang on a North Westerly to get anything like decent thermal lift. It was tonight.
This model was a Christmas present from my parents in 1986, it’s now 40 years old.
It’s an EMP Apex 98 “ Wing Span Glider.
I gave it to my buddy back in about 2007 when I was finished with the hobby, he put it away in storage. About two years ago he handed it me back and I gave it a full refresh.
I spent a lot of time on it.
Had a good 30 minute flight with it tonight, although it’s a totally different discipline - flying gliders. It’s an elevator and rudder only model, it relies on the dihedral of the wing to turn - so you need massive movements on the rudder. And gentle input on the stick.
And getting it down is hard work, it’s so much on the edge of stalling, yet the long wings generate loads of lift. Bleeding off speed and lift - with a near two metre wing span.
Not a bad Christmas present that has lasted 40 years.
I’ve bought two more models this week, I’ll get some photos up soon.
New aircraft number 1. Sucks teeth. What was it you said Kim about the number of model aircraft you should have?
Right, so what happened. I was on e bay. Enough said.
It was extremely local to me, the warehouse to support the hospice .
Who looked after my dear mom.
Here it is.
Dear god. What have I let myself in for?
It’s huge, it’s got bombs, retracts, 3 bladed prop. Massive engine ( I don’t know how big it is)
I’m sure it will be fine, I mean what could possibly go wrong.
I’ll take the engine cowl off tomorrow, to understand what I am dealing with.
Right, so what happened. I was on e bay. Enough said.
It was extremely local to me, the warehouse to support the hospice .
Who looked after my dear mom.
Here it is.
Dear god. What have I let myself in for?
It’s huge, it’s got bombs, retracts, 3 bladed prop. Massive engine ( I don’t know how big it is)
I’m sure it will be fine, I mean what could possibly go wrong.
I’ll take the engine cowl off tomorrow, to understand what I am dealing with.
Oooops. Thankfully I have a ton of spares. New boom, tail fin and back together. Replaced the main rotor blades as a matter of precaution as theyre a little chomped but should be mostly ok. Main shaft is still ok and no play in the feathering shaft. Small test flight done and it's stable... I'll be a bit more cautious next time!
Edited by Xenoous on Friday 7th August 10:01
I have a history of flying model aircraft. Very much so when younger with a WOT4 with a .61 with tuned pipe which was bonkers!
I built the Fokker during lockdown. Scared to fly it, i don't know why. I know I can. It'll fly at walking pace if you wish.
The UMX Turbo Timer Evo hangs on the wall. Got that 3 weeks ago. Scared to fly that while I know I can fly that too. It's totally me too but why can I not?
I have the amazing Spektrum radio for it all, and everything for the models are mixed in for the controls. More than necessary!
Even have a farm to fly from. Does anyone else get scared to fly things like me?
I find it rubbish!
Checkmate said:
Even have a farm to fly from. Does anyone else get scared to fly things like me?
I find it rubbish!
I always find a first flight nervous, that something’s gonna fall off, or controls are reversed, despite doing thorough checks beforehand.I find it rubbish!
Until recently I’ve been flying from a farmers field, but due to getting bigger models have had to join a club with a maintained runway.
It’s a bit different now that I have to have a little bit of fore thought, rather than plugging a lipo in for an hour and then walking into the field behind the house.
What is nice is having more people around with a common interest, although it’s a bit strange being one of the youngest ones, despite being 50!! They’re a nice bunch of guys though…
A fair few flights into the Extra NG and really enjoying the way it flys… it’s still quite light despite being a 60inch wingspan so suffers a bit in a breeze, but that light wing loading makes it so manoeuvrable. Little addition of my own 3d printed pilot
Checkmate said:
I have a history of flying model aircraft. Very much so when younger with a WOT4 with a .61 with tuned pipe which was bonkers!
I built the Fokker during lockdown. Scared to fly it, i don't know why. I know I can. It'll fly at walking pace if you wish.
The UMX Turbo Timer Evo hangs on the wall. Got that 3 weeks ago. Scared to fly that while I know I can fly that too. It's totally me too but why can I not?
I have the amazing Spektrum radio for it all, and everything for the models are mixed in for the controls. More than necessary!
Even have a farm to fly from. Does anyone else get scared to fly things like me?
I find it rubbish!
Maybe next time..............
Kim
ducatikim said:
Checkmate said:
I have a history of flying model aircraft. Very much so when younger with a WOT4 with a .61 with tuned pipe which was bonkers!
I built the Fokker during lockdown. Scared to fly it, i don't know why. I know I can. It'll fly at walking pace if you wish.
The UMX Turbo Timer Evo hangs on the wall. Got that 3 weeks ago. Scared to fly that while I know I can fly that too. It's totally me too but why can I not?
I have the amazing Spektrum radio for it all, and everything for the models are mixed in for the controls. More than necessary!
Even have a farm to fly from. Does anyone else get scared to fly things like me?
I find it rubbish!
Maybe next time..............
Kim
My confidence was sky high, I couldn’t do anything wrong. This season, a monster smash early on (not my fault) and then another smash soon after (my fault). My confidence has been in the bin.
I have returned to flying my electric foamy to restore my nerves, it was getting to the point where I was not enjoying my flying. I really wasn’t bothered if we got rained off.
It’s slowly coming back, however there is a good reason I’ve not flown my Flag Ship Acro Wot this season.
Afternoon all.
What the hell has happened? It’s like someone has suddenly flicked a switch - and we’ve gone straight to Autumn in a matter of days. Absolutely chucked it down in Cumbria today (not unusual) however not ideal for the flying season, and for me. That door is slamming soon.
A couple of weeks left, at most, from experience.
Ok, the Merlin *cough* OS has been out of the Spitfire over the summer as there was some tidying up that needed to be done.
The fuel had been eating away at the paint around the nose. But, I wanted to restore it respectfully.
And still make it look old, and not look brand new. It is, after all a model I built in 1995. I’ve been whatsapping my flying buddy and we may have to fly this weekend. Unheard of.
However, we have an agreement. We must fly our Spitfires every year. We always leave it this late, because we always dodge the subject !
It’s all good to go. I wish I could say I was looking forward to it. It’s an experience in itself to fly. It flys so nice. But it takes so much concentration.
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/gmWw2wd0vlc?ra=m
What the hell has happened? It’s like someone has suddenly flicked a switch - and we’ve gone straight to Autumn in a matter of days. Absolutely chucked it down in Cumbria today (not unusual) however not ideal for the flying season, and for me. That door is slamming soon.
A couple of weeks left, at most, from experience.
Ok, the Merlin *cough* OS has been out of the Spitfire over the summer as there was some tidying up that needed to be done.
The fuel had been eating away at the paint around the nose. But, I wanted to restore it respectfully.
And still make it look old, and not look brand new. It is, after all a model I built in 1995. I’ve been whatsapping my flying buddy and we may have to fly this weekend. Unheard of.
However, we have an agreement. We must fly our Spitfires every year. We always leave it this late, because we always dodge the subject !
It’s all good to go. I wish I could say I was looking forward to it. It’s an experience in itself to fly. It flys so nice. But it takes so much concentration.
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/gmWw2wd0vlc?ra=m
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